‘It sounds like witchcraft’: can light therapy really give you better skin, cleaner teeth, stronger joints?

Light-based treatment is certainly having a wave of attention. You can now buy illuminated devices targeting issues like skin conditions and wrinkles as well as aching tissues and periodontal issues, recently introduced is a toothbrush equipped with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a breakthrough in at-home oral care.” Internationally, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, your body is warmed directly by infrared light. As claimed by enthusiasts, the experience resembles using an LED facial mask, stimulating skin elasticity, soothing sore muscles, alleviating inflammatory responses and long-term ailments and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

The Science and Skepticism

“It feels almost magical,” observes Paul Chazot, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Certainly, we know light influences biological functions. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, crucial for strong bones, immune defense, and tissue repair. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Sunlight-imitating lamps are a common remedy for people with seasonal affective disorder (Sad) to elevate spirits during colder months. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Types of Light Therapy

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, the majority of phototherapy tools use red or near-infrared wavelengths. In serious clinical research, including research on infrared’s impact on neural cells, determining the precise frequency is essential. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, extending from long-wavelength radiation to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Phototherapy, or light therapy employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, followed by visible light encompassing rainbow colors and infrared light visible through night vision technology.

UV light has been used by medical dermatologists for many years to treat chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo. It affects cellular immune responses, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” says a dermatology expert. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA goes deeper into the skin than UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “generally affect surface layers.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

The side-effects of UVB exposure, including sunburn or skin darkening, are understood but clinical devices employ restricted wavelength ranges – signifying focused frequency bands – which minimises the risks. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, meaning intensity is regulated,” notes the specialist. Essentially, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “to confirm suitable light frequency output – unlike in tanning salons, where regulations may be lax, and we don’t really know what wavelengths are being used.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he explains, “don’t have strong medical applications, though they might benefit some issues.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, help boost blood circulation, oxygen uptake and dermal rejuvenation, and promote collagen synthesis – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Studies are available,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” Regardless, amid the sea of devices now available, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. We don’t know the duration, ideal distance from skin surface, the risk-benefit ratio. Many uncertainties remain.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

Early blue-light applications focused on skin microbes, bacteria linked to pimples. The evidence for its efficacy isn’t strong enough for it to be routinely prescribed by doctors – despite the fact that, notes the dermatologist, “it’s commonly used in cosmetic clinics.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he observes, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we just tell them to try it carefully and to make sure it has been assessed for safety. Without proper medical classification, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

At the same time, in advanced research areas, researchers have been testing neural cells, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he reports. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – that claims seem exaggerated. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He created some devices so that we could work with them with cells and with fruit flies,” he explains. “I remained doubtful. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, which most thought had no biological effect.”

Its beneficial characteristic, nevertheless, was its efficient water penetration, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. These organelles generate cellular energy, creating power for cellular operations. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, particularly in neural cells,” says Chazot, who prioritized neurological investigations. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is consistently beneficial.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. In limited quantities these molecules, notes the scientist, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, protect cellular integrity and manage defective proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he reports, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, including his own initial clinical trials in the US